Booking.comReviews 4,267

We rented an apartment in Sarlat via booking.com and faced a brutal scam orchestrated by the apartment landlord Alex Chemel. The apartment was rented for 3 nights and paid by credit card 440 and as a standard condition we provided a security deposit of 500 for case of damage. We left the apartment in the allotted time and the concierge handed the keys, leaving all in order. On the same day in the evening we received a mail from booking.com which said that the owner has requested 500 for damages yet no evidence of the damage was provided. The owner did not respond to our calls, moreover soon came a new mail from booking.com stating that the owner complains about harassment and they ask us to stop calling him. On the next day 500 was withdrawn from the credit card. Our attempts to find out any details have failed, Alex never not answer direct phone calls, only when we called from Skype using US calling number. The booking.com sent us a mail that in the future we have to deal directly with the owner of the apartment and was eliminated from involvement in this process. Thus we have not received any support from booking.com, despite the fact that for many years were his clients and had a flawless history of tens to stay in different parts of the world.

Stayed at a 2 bedroom apartment in downtown Vancouver advertised as good for 6 guests! Actually a one bedroom corner unit wth small dining room converted into a second bedroom with flimsy plastic wall material. 3rd couple couple has to drag extra mattress from main bedroom to small living room! Arrived late in the day yet cleaning lady still in premises packing pizza boxes and trash of prior guests. Pick up and drop off keys two blocks away- perfect time wasters looking for address if unfamiliar with city! Even if you paid me, won't book this listing in booking.com as 2 BEDROOM APARTMENT IN DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER! Beware. This is my 3rd booking at Booking.com and proving to be unreliable so far. We have two cities to visit and anxious about next disappointment!

Tried to book a hotel in Glasgow with the site but the website crashed before confirming the room and said it was not available to book at the time. Did not receive any emails to confirm a booking but was still charged for the room! Contacted the hotel who said I needed to speak to booking.com and was then sent an email by booking.com to say my room had been cancelled but what being charged the full room price. Emailed them twice to explain what happened and had no reply after 4 days.

This was my first time booking through booking.com and I made couple of "non refundable" mistakes. After reaching out to booking.com for money back and talking to the most helpful stuff member(Krzysztof Zbudniewek) i was refunded all my money.
As far as hotel goes, i am surprised that people who left negative reviews, didn't research their hotels through trip-advisor and such to make sure that the place has excellent reviews form other sources.

Stay away from Booking.com
On May 10,2016, I booked a Hotel in Dubai for 7 nights through Booking.com and same day I received a confirmation no. *******. But the next day I received an e-mail from Booking.com that says that the price of AED50 is too low and it was an error committed by the Hotel and requested me to increase the price to AED190 or cancel the booking. I replied that I will not agree to new price and on May 13,2016, Booking.com cancelled my booking unilaterally and they wanted to get off the hook without giving me any further remedial action to mitigate my problem. This is a very bad business practice and potential Booking.com customers should know that they can never be sure that their booking will be honored as they can cancel it at any time under any pretext written in their terms and conditions that seldom customers care to read.
Aklilu

Do not trust promises made by booking.com

I booked a furnished 2 bedroom suite in at Furnished Suites in Corporate Center in Santa Monica through booking.com As I subsequently saw from other reviews, they often double book. They did so to us (see full story below). Booking.com promised in writing to reimburse us for the additional cost. It is now 2 weeks later and I don't have my reimbursement of over $800 and they won't even respond to my emails! I thought they were a legitimate company.

I showed up with my kids to get the keys. I called and left messages. I finally got through to someone and they said the apartment was no longer available. They said they had another location available. I considered it because I had no choice but they didnt tell me where it was. After calling them at least 6 times and asking for Sarah Avery who seems to work an "affiliated" company called Pelican Executive Vacation Suites, (I spoke with someone who said her name was summer who said Sarah would call me back and then said May would call me back), and consistently being told that someone would call me back, it was clear that they had nothing for me. I called booking.com and they called them on my behalf and they admitted that they had nothing for me! Booking.com then tried to find me another suitable location (it was more expensive as we were paying a little over $300 and this new location was about $1200 but they said that they would make sure we would be reimbursed) but tried to get me to go to a different town which didnt work for us. So they authorized me to go to a location that I found myself in Santa Monica (which was cheaper than the alternate location they had proposed $831 as opposed to over $1200). They said I should pay for it and send then the receipt and they would reimburse. It is now more than 10 days later and 4 unanswered emails and I do not have my reimbursement and no reply from booking.com!

I was just at the Firehouse Inn on this week. I booked this hotel based on the ratings set by booking.com. Cleanliness was the highest rating for this hotel. Truly a deception. From the restaurant to the rooms upstairs the carpet, area rugs, & floor was filthy. The end tables in the room was dusty. From the restaurant to the room their was a musty smell. I am baffled as to how this place got such a high rating on cleanliness. Makes me wonder if the ratings are legit.

I have been using this company for 2 - 3 years and have only had a problem of being sent to a double booked hotel once ( and even then we were taken by the owner to another hotel). I like it because you can read the reviews of people who have stayed in the hotel recently and check the rating from 1 - 10. I try for something around 7.5 plus. When you sign on with them you get cheaper deals as well.

I booked a room on March 13 and tried to cancel it on May 8. The reservation is for June 8. I was told I was going to be charged for the entire stay. I called the hotel they said they cannot access reservations made through booking.com as they are bought in blocks. I called booking.com and they said that it was the hotel refusing to cancel that they did not accept any fees. After putting me on hold for 10 minutes pretending to be calling the hotel. I called the hotel back and they said booking.com is known for doing this and that they are lying. After reading all these reviews, I guess I believe the hotel.

Hotel that we booked at with booking gave our reservations we made 5 months in advance to someone that booked after we did. We were told that 20 or so people had the same thing happen to them at this hotel that weekend. Booking notified us minutes before check in on this. We had went by the hotel earlier that day & were told that we had reservations but couldn't check in till 3pm. We told them it would be late before we could check in due to being at a concert. Lady we spoke with at the hotel said that was fine. Booking was no help at all in this matter. They don't hold the hotels responsible for bookings made through them!

We booked a wellness hotel in Belgium on 5.8 km from a village where we wanted to go shopping.
My husband forgot his swimwear so we bought a pair during shopping and looked forward to go to the hotel for some nice hammam treatments and bubble bath.
However The hotel was not 5.8 km away but 48 km! When we arrived there was nothing!
The hotel owner had a daughter with a beauty center on 2 km distance.

After calling booking.com they wanted to relocate us and offered us another hotel.
After reading the reviews and seeing the pics it was really not attractive. Because of the holidays there was nothing available. Booking.com offered us to pay the costs of the hotel as well the gasoline (400km to Belgium and 400 km back to Holland)
We arrived home at 23:00 and the next morning I checked my mail.
They told us that we had to contact the hotel owner ourselves to get a refund of 40 euro's!
The hotel costs were 95 per night! And what about the gasoline for 800 km? We sent all the pics and bills to booking.com and still hope to get a refund! Horrible vacation!

We have used this service few ties and they have screwed up badly twice. The first screw up not even getting us a reservation. We showed to the hotel with confirmation in hand and didn't have a reservation. Fortunately the hotel was able to get us in at a rate that was better than Booking.com provided. Next time my wife booked something through them they made the reservation for the day she booked it on the site not for the date 2 months in the future she wanted, then they refused to help her with the charge she got from the hotel when she didn't show up on the date she booked. Stay away from these people.

Just now on 5-2-16 was looking for a room in Chicago for 6-24-16 for 2 days. Booking.com shows the Courtyard Marriott Downtown for $216.00 per night without taxes. Claimed to be normally$370.00 per night without taxes. I am pretty familiar with Chicago hotel prices. $370.00 per night seemed Very high. I go over to the Marriott web site and find the Exact same room for the same dates listed at $197.00 per night without taxes... Wow,, what a scam! May the buyer beware. I won't even bother to check Booking.com in the future. The room at $370.00 is a blatant lie..

On February 2016 we made reservations for April 30th, at the Residence Inn by Marriott at Aventura, Miami Florida for 3 suits accommodating 5 people each, for a family party of 13.
Upon arrival we were told that the hotel is overbooked and only one single room is Available, and we should drive over to another Marriott inn at hich rooms will be available to us.
When arriving at the alternate hotel we were told that they are overbooked as well and will be able to provide only 2 single rooms which are with double bed each.
We were further told that they are constantly experiencing overbooking with Booking.com system, as their system will not show overbooking and will confirm regardless of availability.
On top of the great inconvenience caused we had to book a much more expensive hotel out of choice at a very late hour with a large family.
We are looking into the legal aspects of the situation and are considering our next steps

I am amazed at the number of negative comments and 1 star ratings there are here for Booking.com. I have used the website on numerous occasions and never had any issues with any aspect of the booking or cancellation processes. In reading some of the negative comments I am would venture to say that the issue is not with Booking.com but with the individual making the booking or cancellation. If you take the time to review your booking it is hard to go wrong. Make sure you understand the cancellation policy. Some hotels have different cancellation policies for different rooms or even the same room depending on the terms of the booking. The cancellation process is fast and easy. Notification comes in the form of an email but is also easy to check on the website if you are a registered user. Some reviewers here have complained that the hotels they have booked are not as represented on the Booking.com website. Be guided by the comments of people who have taken the time to post reviews of hotels on the Booking.com website. Booking.com relies on the good will of the hotels listed on its site to provide accurate information. It cannot possibly verify the accuracy of the information provided by the 1000s of hotels it lists.

I saw a lower price four days before my stay and instead of booking it and cancelling my booking.com reservation, I sent them an email asking for a price match. Big mistake! They responded 2 1/2 days later and said the hotl was full. Not surprisingly, Booking.com waited until after the cancellation period before responding to my email and prices went up on the other website. Not a big deal for me and booking.com because the rate difference was $10. I just wanted to check their price match guarantee and now know it is a scam!